Simplify

This book by Bill Hybels was a great read. Over the past year I have been questioning the business and trajectory of my life, wondering if I’m heading in the right direction and living a purposeful life.

So this book gave me much to think about when aiming to live a simplified life. Bill’s version of simplified is not necessarily slower, quieter or softer but rather he sees a simplified life as one that is focused, purposeful and god centered.

Four things that stood out to me were

The value of meaningful connections

It’s important to stay connected to people. In general people with more connections in life are also more successful. The book encourages you to build deep, valuable friendships and to invest time and energy into these relationships. It’s equally important to make sure our connections with people are not destructive, we should be careful who we connect with in order to live a simplified life.

Harnessing the calender

Scheduling time in you calendar is not about what you need to get done. It’s more about who you want to become. Using your diary to set aside time for the practice, discipline, activities that help you become the person you want to become. If you want to be a family man, schedule time with family.

Finding a life verse

This is a piece of scripture that helps you refocus your life when it gets crowded with complexity and chaos.

I guess if you are not a bible reader then the equivilant here would be a simple statement about what your purpose is in life. A purpose statement or life verse should help you keep your life focused and your decisions on track to seeing it through.

From meaningless to satisfied

A real reminder that the things that satisfy us are not necessarily the things that we spend our time doing. Money will not satisfy us, neither success, nor pleasure. So many of us are stuck in a cycle that is meaningless in the greater context. We need to start focusing on things that truly satisfy.

In my words we should be refocusing our lives on being significant instead of meaningless.